May 13, 1876.] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



363 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



CONIFERS IN EXPOSED SITUATIONS.— No. 1. 



■ '^^^' ITES of residences for tlie wealthy are ooca- 

 •j^^ sionally selected having no natural shelter 

 ^^^ from the winds. Hill-side sites will natu- 

 rally have shelter from the opposite point 

 of the compass to its aspect, and it may be 

 the prospect is south ; the hill will then be 

 a natural shelter from the cold piercing 

 north. But shelter from the nipping east 

 or stormy west is also requu-ed. Level or 

 gently undulating surfaces in a flat country 

 are easily sheltered by I'aising at a suitable distance 

 hills of verdure ; for trees, like hills, break the force or 

 divert the course of currents of air. Many trees will be 

 suitable for shelter in a flat country which in a high one 

 are altogether unsuitable. Trees which in valleys attain 

 their full proportions, become in exposed sites stunted in 

 growth. I shall confine my remarks to those Conifers 

 that I have had experience of in a high and exposed 

 situation. Shelter is sought by plantations and belts of 

 trees near and distant, and the first subject to claim our 

 attention is the 



Scotch Fu- (Pinua sylvestris). It rears its head in 

 stately form, and its roots grip the soil firmly, enabling 

 it to hold its own against wind and weather in positions 

 from which all, so far as I know, of its own order are 

 driven. Stunted it will be if thinly planted, or at a high 

 altitude, for trees diminish in size with altitude and cold, 

 and increase with warmth ; but though its head may be 

 a scrub, the branches driven this way and that, the tree 

 does not fail to maintain its equilibrium, and is unques- 

 tionably the fittest Conifer for a hill. 



Austrian Pine (Pinus austriaoa) is of denser growth, 

 and considerably more branched and spreading than the 

 Scotch Fir, the latter making an effort to produce a 

 timber-like stem, to which the Austrian Pine has no pre- 

 tensions, nor, in my opinion, will this ever be valuable in 

 the most favourable positions as a timber tree in this 

 country. Its growth is dense, and the grip of the soil 

 not nearly so great as in the Scotch Fir. In sheltered 

 positions it grows quickly, forming a spreading tree with 

 dark foliage, and is very handsome. It is also good for 

 planting in the vicinity of towns. 



Corsican Pine (Pinus Laricio) is not nearly so dense in 

 habit as the Austrian Pine, and is even lees buehy than 

 the Scotch Fir, but it grows twice as rapidly in an exposed 

 situation as either of the kinds mentioned. It rises in 

 the most exposed sites with its main stem as erect as a 

 flagstaff, having every appearance of making a valuable 

 timber tree. In sheltered positions it grows vei-y rapidly, 

 making growths of about a yard in a season. It has a 

 still greater advantage, for though hares and r.tbbits are 

 very fond of Scotch Fir, and browse on the leaves of the 

 Austrian Pine, these animals never touch the Corsican 

 Pine, which is the very best for any situation for shelter, 

 and I am sanguine also as a timber tree. 



We may add to these the Mountain Pine (Pmua Pu- 

 milio montana), which is dwarf, and will move any and 

 No. 7S7.-VOL. XSVIU., New SEaiEs. 



almost every way without snapping. I do not, however, 

 recommend it. The Sea Pine or Pinaster (Pinus ma- 

 ritima, LamarcJ:) may be mentioned as useful for planting 

 near the sea and for sandy soils ; it and the Austrian Pina 

 withstanding the sea winds better than any other Conifer. 

 There is no disputing the value of shelter, especially in 

 exposed situations, so that no apology is needed for in- 

 troducing a plan of a sheltering belt or plantation. 



a d a d a 

 d d d d d 



d o d c d 

 d d d d d 



b d b d b 

 d d d d d 



d b d b d 



a. — Austrian Pine at 9 feet apart. 

 b. — Corsican Pine at 9 feet apart. 

 c, — Scotch Fir at 9 feet apart. 



a d a d a 

 d d d d d 



d c d c d 

 d d d d d 



b d b d b 

 d d d d d 

 d b d b d 



rf. — Larch in the between rows 

 4i feet apart, and where 

 planted alternately 9 feet. 



The Larches, as nurses, to be all felled by the time 

 they are encroaching upon the evergreens. The removal 

 of the Larches will leave the evergreens 9 feet apart every 

 way, and when these meet, and before they crowd so as 

 to become bare at the bottom, thin to 18 feet apart, and 

 this will keep them feathered to the ground or nearly so, 

 and good for shelter to the longest period. The Larch 

 in exposed situations becomes a scrub, and would never 

 attain to the size of a timber tree were it not for the 

 shelter afforded by the other trees forming the plantation. 

 The pale green of the Larch in spring adds immensely to 

 the beauty of such a belt. The belt ought to be of such 

 a breadth that at least six rows of trees will remain after 

 the nurses are removed. 



White American Spruce (Abies alba) has glaucous leaves, 

 and in rather moist soil with moderate shelter grows 

 quickly, and forms a very handsome conical tree. It 

 does not do well without shelter, becoming stunted and 

 sparse of branchlets, succumbing to wind in a bleak 

 exposure. 



Hemlock Spruce (Abies canadensis) in exposed situa- 

 tions grows very slowly, the leaves being browned and 

 the appearance miserable. With shelter and in damp 

 soil it thrives well and is very handsome, but it is not 

 nearly so quick-growing nor so beautiful as Prince Albert's 

 Spruce (Abies Albertiana) ; this, however, does not suc- 

 ceed in exposed positions. 



Douglas Fir (Abies Douglasii), handsome and rapid- 

 growing as it is in sheltered situations, does not succeed 

 in high bleak places, its leaves in winter becoming brown 

 and falling in most part before the new leaves are formed, 

 and the tree ultimately perishes. 



Meuzies' Fir (Abies Menziesii) is quick-growing and 

 ornamental, slightly browned on the most exposed side. 

 The leaves are silvery beneath; it does best in rather 

 damp soil. 



Norway Spruce (Abies excelsa) is very dense in growth, 

 and grows very slowly, having after a hard winter a sickly 

 appearance ; is not to be recommended unless shelter is 

 present and the ground damp. With those aids it is 

 quick-growing and beautiful. 



No. 1E89.— Vol. LIII., Old Seeizs. 



